Makimono - Ajax (Japanese)

Makimono is located at 60 Kingston Road E. in Ajax, east of the Salem Road exit of Hwy. 401. Makimono has a dark interior with very nice decoration. We went for weekday dinner; AYCD pop is available at $1.99. Green lid soy sauce at table was salty. iPad ordering and reusable chopsticks are used. Makimono now has at several locations with others in Clarington, Pickering and Etobicoke (aka Airport) that we have visited; the pricing and almost all of the offerings are the same (or are supposed to be...)

Not off to a good start: the miso soup was very underwhelming, lacking umami by almost completely missing dashi and most of the miso itself; was rather like dishwater. Green salad was okay but I expected more from the dressing. Mishy said the wakame salad was very good fortunately. Lemon chicken was too dry in a batter that Mishy didn't like at all and the lemon sauce was very weak and lacking in flavour. We've had much better lemon chicken elsewhere, such as recently at K&B, where the lemon in the sauce was poignant. Wonton soup was similarly unappealing with flavours that really didn't belong there such as an excess of green onion and very little else in the broth; I really doubt that whoever made it is actually tasting it; the wontons themselves were alright, but nothing better.

Beef teriyaki was good, however in thin slices of a cheaper cut that were not properly sliced through, so all clung together and there was little garlic or other added flavour in it; I've had equivalent in other places with $14.00 lunch; the sauce was rather tasty however. General Tao chicken was in a sauce that more resembled sweet and sour chicken, but was good nonetheless. Black pepper beef was very good, but could have used a little more garlic however, but it was still delicious. Beef sashimi was very good although the sauce could have done a little more justice. We both enjoyed the beef skewer, the sauce was very good. Chicken teriyaki was good, but not exemplary and the sauce was the same as the other teriyaki dishes; other places do tailor it to fit the characteristics of the meat, but not this one; the chicken could have also been a little better quality.

Tempura sauce could have been better if it wasn't so sweet, it was like a bowl of liquid sugar. Even before I said a word, Mishy agreed and pointed out that the tempura itself had heavy thick batter rather than being light and flaky. Broccoli, mushroom and pumpkin tempura were all the same. The impenetrable batter made the mushrooms soggy. Shrimp tempura was similarly not light and flaky. The tempura was also oily because of its thickness.

Mishy thought the salmon nigri to be tasteless, I found this was because the fish was sliced thinly. However it was fresh, and the rice was good. Tamago sashimi was good but a little sweet. The steamed spinach bun was good, but the sauce was basically undisguised sriracha. Surimi sashimi was fresh and good, as well as red snapper sashimi which was probably red snapper. Butter fish and white tuna sashimi were probably escolar but they were good. Red tuna sashimi was excellent and almost definitely the real thing. Salmon sashimi was good and fresh, but the second round of salmon sashimi was less fresh than the first.

The hot and sour soup was nicely seasoned, but was neither hot and sour so was missing that critical component. Gyoza tasted stale, as if freezer-burned. I also didn't enjoy the sauce, it tasted burnt (not freezer but literal.) Coconut shrimp was tasty and the sauce did it justice with a hint of mustard. Chicken katsu looked too dark to be good, but it was actually good; the sauce was not acrid, and its ingredients did not clash; unfortunately it was rather dry. Pork shiu mai was good, the sauce was hot but still did it justice. Mishy liked the beef udon soup but I found it lacklustre; it wasn't bad, but still not as good as what is to be expected here.

For dessert, strawberry and mango ice creams were fresh. Mishy didn't like the steamed bun saying it was dry. Fried banana was good and had plenty of chocolate dipping sauce, but banana was a bit mushy. Mango, raspberry and so-called black forest cake were the same brands used at many other restaurants. Coconut ice cream was excellent with pieces of coconut and was fresh. Jello was somewhat diluted. Mango pudding was excellent full of flavour. Mango yoghurt was good.

Weekday dinner was $28.99. The service was excellent, friendly and fast. However although all the Makimono locations are supposed to be the same quality-wise, this one was not up to the others (the online ratings also reflect this… it's almost half a point lower.) However this is strongly offset by the inclusion of sashimi on the lunch menu, as is also the case at the other Makimonos. Thus, although I don't think I would return to this one unless improvements are made (especially with the proximity of two that we found better) it would still be a reasonably good value on lunch.

Rating: 7-7.5/10